As the start of the 2016 college football season approaches faster than senior defensive end Trey Hendrickson’s pass rush, let’s see how coach Charlie Partridge’s squad stacks up by the numbers.

1 –  Last year, four losses were decided by one possession. This includes two overtime losses by a combined nine points against University of Florida and the University of Tulsa.

3 – In his last year at Samford University before signing with FAU, offensive coordinator Travis Trickett’s fast-paced aerial assault was ranked third in the Football Championship Subdivision in passing, throwing for 332.9 yards per game. Trickett called 77 more passing plays (465) than rush attempts (388) last year. FAU’s run-heavy offense rushed the ball 498 times, compared to 393 pass attempts.

4 – Four players on this year’s squad received preseason honors this offseason.

• Redshirt senior center Dillon DeBoer – Rimington Trophy watch list for the country’s most outstanding center
• Redshirt senior punter Dalton Schomp – Ray Guy Award watch list for the country’s most outstanding punter
• Trey Hendrickson – Bednarik Award watch list for the country’s best defensive player of the year
• Redshirt senior defensive tackle Shalom Ogbonda – Wuerffel Trophy watch list or a combination of community service, academic achievement and athletic achievement

Schomp also received co-honors for Conference USA Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year. Joining him with all-conference honors is Hendrickson, who the conference named Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

5 – Five players from last year’s FAU squad had their dreams realized this summer as defensive lineman Brandin Bryant, cornerback Cre’von LeBlanc, wide receiver Jenson Stoshak, defensive tackle Trevon Coley and defensive back Sharrod Neasman all signed NFL contracts.

20 –  While the 2016 season marks the end of Hendrickson’s collegiate career, the senior has already accumulated 20 sacks during his time at FAU, making him the all-time sack leader in the football program’s 15-year history.

35 – The Owls totaled 35 sacks last season, the most in Conference USA in 2015.

42– Travis Trickett’s up-tempo offense at Samford scored 42 touchdowns last season with a healthy divide of 22 passing touchdowns to 20 rushing touchdowns. The Owls scored a combined 27 touchdowns all of last year.

66 – Coming into the 2016 training camp, FAU has 66 players returning from last year. One of more glaring openings in this year’s roster is the vacancy at the quarterback position following the departure of Jaquez Johnson. Redshirt sophomore Jason Driskel recently beat out redshirt freshman Daniel Parr. The decision was announced on Aug. 21 after an eight-month long competition.

9,272 – The FAU Owls will be traveling a combined 9,272 miles on the road this season for six away games all over the country. This number is 3,032 miles less than the 12,304 miles the Owls traveled last year. This is in part because the scheduling of conference games changing from last year, whereas FAU played against teams like Western Kentucky and Southern Illinios at home. This year the Owls face them on the road, lowering the total.

The biggest number for FAU fans to remember is four, as in FAU is four days away from kicking off the new season. The Owls will host Southern Illinois University at 6 p.m. on Sept. 3.

Christopher Libreros is a contributing writer with the University Press. For information regarding this or other stories, email [email protected] or tweet him @ChrisIsAirborne.